One Night in Oxford

Another friday rolled around and we wasted no time in leaving work, packing our bags and driving off down to Oxford for the night. We had been hanging out for weeks to go to Oxford to see an acoustic performance by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds. I managed to secure some rediculously overpriced tickets from Ebay to this sold out performance but it was all worth it as we sat in a very intimate venue to watch a guy that normally packs out stadiums in America. The venue was the New Theatre which seated 1900 and was located along a hustle and bustle cobblestoned street full of entertainment in the centre of Oxford. We didnt have long once arriving to check into our budget accomodation at the YHA and get walking into the town centre. The concert was fantastic and was so soothing to Becs that she took a little nap half way through. We loved it all and were glad to be sitting in a comfy theatre seat instead of a roudy mosh pit. Cant wait to see Dave return with his full band in May...

The first thing that hit us walking around Oxford was bikes, bikes, bikes! There were literally thousands of them lining every building wall, three or four deep. Being one of the most famous university locations in the world explains this strange phenomenom and it fits really well with the whole style of the place. Oxford has some great history and students have pretty much controlled the place since time began. The university is made up of 40 or so colleges specialising in all their own different fields. So many famous scientists have studied here and some other famous faces like President Clinton and Australian prime minister Bob Hawke. While we read about the many great things achieved by the scientists and professors in the museums, we also read about the amazing record set by Bob in the local pub for drinking a yard glass that is still unbroken today. Bill Clinton was also famous for smoking somthing that was probably against the law although he claims he did not inhale.

The next day we wandered around Oxford where we found some great markets and buskers lining the streets. We came across an ancient church which was the oldest building in Oxford and decided to climb up the tower onto the roof for a look around. The church was built in 1042, more like morning tea time for us Kiwi's but over here its aparently a year that really existed. The church walls showed their age as they were made from unshaped riverstones stacked on top of each other. Not many flat surfaces to hang your pictures here.

Becs and I found our way around to an old museum which has a huge animal and cultural collection from all around the world. There were dinosour skeltons, stuffed kiwis (what the!?!), Moa skeletons, shrunken heads, and some garbage about evolution. It was all very interesting but we couldnt help but think it was really just all the stuff the early British explorers exploited from their expeditions around the globe. Ok, some of the stuff was gifted but it is well known that half the stuff in British museums is plundered goods. Well, at least they weren't charging us to see it... and Mr Kiwi seemed in good spirits although Im not sure this is the standard pose for a Kiwi, perhaps something was lost in the translation.

Following our quick trip around the museum, we rushed off to meet our mates Ritchie and Tracey who had some time off from their jobs on the Swiss slopes as snowboarding instructors. They bussed up from London to meet us in Oxford. We all had lunch at a local student bar and spent the afternoon lazily walking around town soaking up the atmosphere. Oxford gets tops marks from us for its all round atmosphere and serious brain power. It has some impressive history as well as great busking entertainment and wonderful architechture.